Investment Q&A

Q: Hi: can you explain the advantages to holding some stocks in an RRSP while others should be in a Tfsa?

Thanks

Q: Good afternoon,

I'm thinking of replacing individual stocks that I've held for a long time in my RRSP with either XAW or VXC for the foreign portion of the RRSP portfolio and adding XIC or XIU for the Cdn portion of the portfolio. Is this a good idea and if so which would be your preference and recommendation. Thank you.

Q: A former financial advisor friend of mine tells me to be cautious regarding ETFs in a downturn because they have not been tested yet. He informed me that the sale protocol is different between selling a mutual fund vs an ETF and that the ETF could be more volatile. So far I have found both to be less volatile than simply holding stocks which to me can move up and down much more rapidly. For example: PKI moves significantly from time to time while FAI which holds PKI among other stocks moves up and down marginally due to the variety of stocks held. That being said, if there is a strong correction would a mutual fund be a better hold than an ETF of similar holdings?

Q: Hello
Is there a reason the recent options price will be set on the second day after earnings? Thank you
Dave

Q: Hi 5i, what are your top 5 small or mid-cap dividend growth stocks? Also, please provide a few companies that you believe may be initiating a dividend in the near future. Thanks Rob

Q: Can you please recommend some resources, particularly books, that would be ideal for a person, in their mid 40's, who is just starting to learn about investing. Also, I am trying to understand the world of bond prices/yields since they are very important in intermarket analysis. Any good books on this topic? Thanks again.

Q: For portfolio weighting purposes do I include preferred shares in fixed income or equity? Is it also necessary to further break out pref shares as to the industry they are in or is credit worthiness the primary concern? In other words, if 10% of my total portfolio is in financial pref shares, and I also have 15% of my equities in financials, should I then consider myself to hold 25% financials and thus be overweight?

Thanks for your help.

Paul F.

Q: Good morning

I am currently looking to exchange approx $100,000 US to CDN...however, was wondering if I should wait until the announcement of the US rates in June...do you think it is more or less priced in...also, at this time would you invest in US market and look for more upside prior to conversion...I would make approx 34% on exchange currently, then invest in CDN...no tax issues or allocation concerns...

In addition, where do you see current upside in US (3 stocks) and CDN (3 stocks)...

Thanks..feel free to deduct for additional questions...

Matt

Q: Responding to Ernie’s question about stock quote software.

I use a program called MSMoney quotes which downloads stock quotes (and currency exchange rates) from most major indexes. The quotes are directly uploaded into MS Money which microsoft has made available for free since they no longer are developing it. I use MS Money to track performance, dividends, and other transactions for stocks spread across 9 different investment accounts. And MS Money allows me to export my stock data into an excel sheet I wrote which performs sector, currency and risk analysis on my entire portfolio.

Hope this helps.

Q: Hi %i Team,
This is a followup question to my May 16 question regarding bail-in regulation. Would bank money market funds be considered bank deposit and subject to the bail-in OR are they considered mutual funds and outside of the bail in?
Thank you for your great service.
Regards,
Danny

Q: When mutual funds report yearly returns are these usually net of MER and any Management fees or are they reported before expenses?

Thanks

Paul

Q: In response to ernie's question. Google sheets works well. Here is the formula to get the current price ( chnge symbol for each stock of course, and u. S. Exchanges just need the symbol:
=GOOGLEFINANCE("tse:nfi")

And another i found useful was the symbol to convert u.s. Dollars into cdn:
=F7*GoogleFinance("CURRENCY:USDCAD")

Q: Hi THE great team, I guess estimate is part of the market. Who make them ? How accurate are they ? Over or under estimate cause volatility ? How to judge a reasonable one ? Thanks. Victor

Q: Do you know of any software available that can track stock quotes other than Quicken pro. I have used Quicken Pro for many years but now they will discontinue the stock downloads u9nless one purchases their 2017 program. Cost is about 84.00 per year. It works pretty good except it does not correct stock prices for different exchanges. (such as US dollars). Thanks. Ernie

Q: My portfolio has been sitting unchanged for some time (2 yrs), many winners are 5i recommendations, some not so much. With that said, my portfolio is well underperforming the model equity portfolio. Below are my current holdings. If I am to sell off those not included, and change the weight to match those in the model portfolio, how would you go about executing this? Big bang? Are there names you would wait to get into today, or those that you are considering a change in the near future? The value is about 500K, so the trades(from my perspective) will be significant. % are approximate on the add side. Your advise would be really appreciated.

AYA-6.3 (%) - Sell
AVO - 3.7 - Sell
BAD - 3.5 - Increase to 5%
BNS - 6.3 - trim to 5%
BDI - .6 - Sell
CGX - 4.8 - Sell
CSU - 5.6 - No Change
DSG - 4.0 - Sell
DHX - 3.7 - Sell
ENB - 3.5 - Maintain
ENGH - 4.2 - Maintain
XTC - 1.05 - Sell
HCG - 1.1 (ugh) - Sell and burn transaction receipt
MUX - 4.6 - Sell
PKI - 6.4 - Trim to 5%
PLI - 2 - Sell
SSL - 3.8 - Sell
TOY - 6.7 - Trim to 5%
STN - 3.8 - Sell
SJ - 4.1 - Maintain
SLF - 5.2 - Maintain
SYZ - 4.1 - Trim to 3%
TOU - 3.5 - Sell
WCP - .7 - Increase to 3%
Add: AEM 3%, AIF 3%, ATD 4%, CCL 5%, CLS 3%, CXI 3%, GUD 3%, MG 5%, MX 3%, KXS 5%, NFI 3%, PBH 5%, SIS 5%, T 3%, WSP 4%

Also - (I have asked about as many questions of late as I have traded) - for RESP for 4 yr old, roughly 12K in there now, where would you park this given building a portfolio of names is a challenge with the limited funds.

Thanks,

Eric

Q: My approach to investing is simple. Many analysts insist that Canadians have too much of their money in Canada and should be investing elsewhere around the world. I believe the best stock market in the world in the U.S. So my approach has been to invest in Canadian companies that do business in the U.S. and elsewhere (TD, Enbridge, Magna, CCL.B) These companies give you international exposure, you invest in CDN $ and you get the dividend tax credit for non-registered accounts.
Am I missing something?

Q: This will be for the benefit of Patricia and all that are concerned or think they would like to ask more question. IT IS A STRONG ENCOURAGEMENT TO do the following:
Call CDIC at 1 800 461 2342 you will be surprised how easy it is to speak to someone.
YOU CAN ASK:
-about the specific investment that you are planning to do they will tell you if they cover this investment. THEY DO NOT GIVE recommandations.
-About how much money they have to cover any bankrupcy.
-When you will be reimbursed in case of a bankrupcy
-How to make sure that you will be reimbursed capital AND interest
_IF they had experience with past bankrupcy
You will end up appeciating the quality and value of this service.
Print at your will
CDJ

Q: If I were to buy a GIC from Home Capital under 100000, what would happen if they went broke? I understand that the GIC is insured, but for how long would the money be tied up while all the paperwork gets done? And I guess I wouldn't get interest during that time?
Thanks

Q: I do options in U.S. markets, but find low volume and low open interest in Canada. Do you or members know of liquid Canadian stocks suitable for covered write. Thanks.

Q: Both these companies report in USD. They are listed in NY and Toronto. Is the Toronto price basically a function of the rate of exchange?

Do these companies have a hedging strategy to protect the Canadian shareholders?

I suppose that an investor concerned about foreign exchange losses should examine the hedging strategy of any company holding assets outside Canada.